A Venezuelan asylum seeker who was wounded by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Texas is now facing federal charges of assaulting and impeding the agent. The incident, which occurred in Austin, has sparked legal proceedings against Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, while raising questions about the use of force during immigration stops.
Garces Perez appeared in federal court on Tuesday, where he was charged with assaulting, resisting, and impeding a federal officer. If convicted, he could serve up to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors allege that during a traffic stop, Garces Perez struck an officer in the torso with his vehicle’s side-view mirror before fleeing.
The confrontation began on September 20 near a shopping center in the Texas capital. According to a federal complaint filed Monday, ICE officers noticed emergency lights flashing on Garces Perez’s car while he was working as a DoorDash delivery driver. A database check revealed he was subject to a final order of removal from the United States.
Court documents describe the initial interaction as non-aggressive. Garces Perez handed over his driver’s license through a partially open window but remained in the vehicle, requesting that officers wait for his wife to arrive to retrieve the car. However, the complaint states that approximately one minute later, he abruptly closed the window and drove off, causing his side mirror to strike one of the officers.
The affected officer pursued Garces Perez in a separate vehicle. In the affidavit, the officer alleges that Garces Perez attempted to drive into him, prompting him to discharge his weapon. No public video footage of the shooting or the preceding chase has been released. The complaint relies on body-camera footage from one of the two officers involved; the second officer was not wearing a camera.
Garces Perez has provided a conflicting account to federal investigators. He stated that after a brief chase, a law enforcement SUV struck his vehicle, causing it to spin. He claims the officer then shot him in the back while he was incapacitated in the car.
Since the shooting, Garces Perez has been detained in a facility in south Texas. His attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, reported on Sunday that a bullet remains lodged in his body and that he is suffering from a fractured clavicle. She expressed concerns on social media that without prompt surgery, Garces Perez could develop sepsis or sustain permanent damage. The Department of Homeland Security has maintained that he is receiving adequate medical care.
Legal representatives are also moving to halt his deportation. Garces Perez entered the United States in 2024 through CBP One, a digital appointment system for border asylum processing expanded under former President Joe Biden. Although the Trump administration initially ended the program upon taking office, it was relaunched as CBP Home as a self-deportation portal.
Lincoln-Goldfinch asserts that Garces Perez is a lawful asylum seeker with a valid work permit. She explained that his removal order was issued after he missed an immigration court hearing because the notice was sent to an outdated address.
Garces Perez is scheduled to appear before a federal immigration judge on Wednesday for a separate hearing regarding his eligibility to remain in the country. The case unfolds against a backdrop of intensified immigration enforcement during Trump’s second term, with ICE reporting more than 50,000 arrests in both July and August.
As a former DMV worker, I can tell you: missing one court notice due to a wrong address shouldn’t automatically trigger federal assault charges.
Both narratives seem plausible and neither has independent video proof. This case is going to hinge entirely on forensic evidence.
This is exactly why body cams are non-negotiable. No footage from the second officer is unacceptable when lives are at stake.
Wait, he’s an asylum seeker who entered legally through CBP One? The outdated address detail is suspicious and needs investigation.
Twenty years? That seems extremely harsh for someone claiming he was shot in the back while incapacitated. Due process matters here.